Gatekeepers (Cosmic Legacy)
Gatekeepers are mysterious beings whose origins and background remain unknown to all but their original creators, the Steelfangs. They reside in the Middle Euphoria. Like the latter, they are beings that are more powerful than even the strongest of gods within standard pantheons, no matter their power level. The highest-tier of Gatekeepers rival the Steelfangs themselves, no mean feat given the overall power and divinity level of even the weakest Steelfang. Details and Origins Origins The origin of the first Gatekeeper Leilana is not known in certainty, but it is thought that she received her powers from the Steelfang family to serve a role as the watcher of the Multiverse, by receiving access to part of the powers that govern All Creation. Leilana also received a sword that has access to a part of the powers which govern All Destruction, which granted her authority over existence and power which transcended most of the original Steelfangs. Leilana's precise origins are unknown, and it is not clear what she was before becoming the most powerful Gatekeeper. Whatever the case, Leilana began granting divine cores to those who had promise to become high tier divine entities, precipitating the birth of new Gatekeepers that came after her. Basics Like their creators, Gatekeepers are considered gods beyond gods, being able to destroy godly beings such as the Divines and even Daedric Princes (or the equivalent) of the various worlds they watch over with moderate to no effort depending on their power level. The Gatekeepers are also beings beyond fate and prophecy, having the ability to affect the flow of fate in any world through their personal actions. Their actions will change the flow of a world's fate with every move, causing the future to change when they arrive on a world and perform any actions not agreeable with the supposed future. In spite of their power, they are not free of the purpose they and the first Gatekeeper was created for: To uphold preserve the overall balance of the world and save every universe worth saving, while pruning away all failed possibilities that have ended in stasis. Gatekeepers are therefore dispatched to destroy any blockage that would prevent evolution of a universe/timeline, be it individual humans all the way to entire pantheons. As their authority over reality is high, this is considered trivial and everyday to them. Any universe/timeline judged as too far beyond saving is mercilessly destroyed by a Higher Gatekeeper or above as the existence of such worlds are judged as a waste of existence and undeserving of being part of all creation. The destruction of timelines ensure that the multiverse is not bloated with failed worlds. The Gatekeepers involved have the choice of avoiding unnecessary bloodshed so long as it does not interfere with their mission, but they must complete it at any cost. Violence is often the easiest way to remove anything that may prevent the completion of their mission, as mass destruction is the specialty of the typical Gatekeeper. The Gatekeepers are also tasked with destroying upstarts that would try to challenge their authority as well as the Steelfangs'. To grow their numbers, Gatekeepers will recruit promising beings meeting the criteria to become a Gatekeeper. These people come from all walks of life, but must always have high potential for divinity. The other way for more Gatekeepers to be created is simply via birth from parents who are Gatekeepers. Such individuals are known as "Second Generation Gatekeepers" (for those who have parents who were recruited) or even "Third Generation Gatekeepers" (if they parents are Second Generation Gatekeepers). As far as is known, there is no fourth generation Gatekeeper. Powers and Abilities Every Gatekeeper has an extremely high divinity level because of their Divine Core. This high divinity level makes it easier for them to wield any power that requires authority over reality itself. The divinity of a Gatekeeper also translates to having a strong Divine Skin that can deny the attacks of standard gods, which have a lower divinity level than them. This renders a fully powered Gatekeeper virtually invincible to anything weaker than another Gatekeeper or a Steelfang. A Gatekeeper's Divine Core is the basis of their incredible power. It consumes all emotions and converts such into raw energy and magic. The conversion is such that the individual Gatekeeper loses their ability to feel in exchange for unparalleled divine power. The side effect of this is that Gatekeepers feel no empathy or sympathy for anything, allowing them to flawlessly calculate the shortest path to completing any mission, which is beneficial from their point of view. Gatekeepers actually feel no emotion when making a critical judgement, allowing them to continue their missions without getting stressed by the deaths and destruction caused. A Gatekeeper, even with an active Divine Core, is able to perfectly emulate emotion on the surface, although their emotional expression is carefully calculated to be as close to perfect as possible for the situation. As these emotions are false, it is possible for Gatekeepers to show situationally inappropriate emotions if they misjudge the situation, although such incidents are not common. Gatekeepers are able to switch off their Divine Core, which gives them the ability to feel like a human once more, although this comes at the cost of disabling their Divine authority. This process is known as incarnation which renders a Gatekeeper virtually indistinguishable from a common mortal, although they retain all parts of their powers which do not require Divine authority to use. This makes all incarnated Gatekeepers powerful magic users, with no exception. Other common features It is known that every Gatekeeper has an externally humanoid appearance. Gatekeepers tend to possess perfect, beautiful appearances. Their features tend to have extreme symmetry and a complete lack of blemishes. This actually makes their external beauty somewhat alien and inhuman, since it is too perfect to be natural for any man or elf. All in all, while it is easy to appreciate the beauty of a Gatekeeper, it would be impossible for any mortal to not feel unsettled and disturbed by their appearance. Every Gatekeeper crystallizes a sword from their power, once their abilities awaken and they gain divinity. This unique weapon accompanies them forever and allows them to exert their maximum destructive power when used in conjunction with their full divine might. A Gatekeeper can still use this weapon when incarnated, but it will not have many of its stronger abilities. Known Gatekeepers All known Gatekeepers are part of Cosmic Legacy. They are subdivided into a few classes in terms of their power: Highest Gatekeepers The strongest of the Gatekeepers and the only ones able to grant a High Gatekeeper status directly to non Gatekeepers by granting them a High Divine Core. The power of these individuals rival the Steelfang Family members in general. Only Leilana can promote people to this level and it is impossible for a High Gatekeeper to reach this level no matter how much power they amass via study and practice. Crown Gatekeeper There is only a single crown Gatekeeper and her power is nearly absolute. This individual is Gatekeeper Leilana, the first Gatekeeper in existence. She is known as one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse she watches over. Leilana possesses innate control over creative forces and her sword has access to destructive forces. Left and Right Seat These are the two strongest Gatekeepers after Leilana. Their ability and will over reality and concepts outright surpasses most of the Steelfangs. They are: * Leon Viralaine, the Right Seat * Remiell Syphre, the Left Seat The Twelve Apostles These are 12 very powerful Gatekeepers who have abilities equivalent to at least the weakest Steelfang family members. They are ranked according to their overall ability: # "Cosmic Author" # "Fate Architect" # "World Engineer" # Krysaiel Syphre, The Dark Sun # "Unbound Dreamer" # "Starforged Wanderer" # Lumia Caelestis, The Nebula Princess # "Abyss Emperor" # "Mistborn Seer" # "Nameless King" # "Ephemeral Champion" # "Apostate God" The Speaker A special Gatekeeper of the highest tier, who holds incredible power as well. This individual is the Gatekeeper Illya Syphre, who is ranked completely differently from the 12 apostles. She is known to be weaker than the left and right seat with certainty, while stronger than the 12th apostle. High Gatekeeper Very powerful Gatekeepers with ability to destroy worlds with a swing of their fully unlocked swords. A whole pantheon of standard gods wouldn't have a chance of fighting these, assuming the Gatekeeper is not incarnated or purposely holding back. A Low Gatekeeper can be promoted by the Highest Gatekeepers into High Gatekeepers, or they evolve into one given enough time and study. High Gatekeepers are also in charge of recruiting people as Low Gatekeepers. If a world is judged to be destroyed, one of these will normally appear. Known individuals include: * Levith Syphre * Alisa * Eiriana Syphre * Olivia Viralaine Low Gatekeeper Less powerful Gatekeepers which are the rank and file of the Gatekeepers. That being said, these are still incredibly powerful cosmic beings with high authority over reality. They are roughly equivalent to a Divine/Daedric Prince/Standard God in power and do not have universe ending capability, even in their full powered form. They are capable of fighting gods directly if not incarnated. Low Gatekeepers are also dispatched to perform reconnaissance on the worlds regularly and report back to their superiors. Low Gatekeepers are promoted from mortals/demigods/gods by High Gatekeepers. Known individuals include: * Crystal Ashfield Category:Factions Category:Cosmic Legacy